“Finding Sabrina’s Testimony,” Friend, February 2021
Finding Sabrina’s Testimony
The author lives in North Carolina, USA.
Sabrina wasn’t sure if she had a testimony.
“By these things we know that there is a God in heaven” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:17).
Sabrina and Mom flipped through the pages of Sabrina’s baptism book. Sabrina had just turned eight, and her baptism was two weeks away. She was excited—and a little nervous—to be baptized.
“Look at how much we’ve done already!” Mom said. She flipped through the pages. The book was to help Sabrina get ready for baptism. They had filled out the pages about her favorite things and another page about her family. Then they came to a page with the words “My Testimony” at the top.
“I don’t want to fill that one out,” Sabrina said.
“OK,” Mom said, turning the page. “We can fill it out later.”
“I don’t think I want to fill it out at all,” Sabrina said.
“Why not?” Mom asked.
“Because I don’t know what a testimony is.” Sabrina felt her face turn red and hot.
Mom paused. “It means knowing Heavenly Father loves you.”
“But Heavenly Father hasn’t answered my prayers.” Sabrina’s eyes stung with tears. “I’ve been praying for a whole month to find my blanket, but I still can’t find it!”
Sabrina loved her blanket. It was soft and pink. Her grandmother had made it for her when she was born. She had slept with it every night before it got lost.
Mom wrapped her arms around Sabrina. “Sometimes Heavenly Father doesn’t answer our prayers right away. And sometimes His answer is no. But that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t hear our prayers or that He doesn’t love us.”
Sabrina sniffed. “I guess.”
On Sunday, Sabrina’s Primary teacher, Sister Lee, read a story from the Friend. It was about a boy who was upset because he heard bad words on the bus. He prayed about his problem. Then he had the thought that he could listen to his headphones on the bus. That thought was the answer to his prayer.
“Oh! Is that all?” Sabrina asked. “I thought answers to prayers were bigger than that! Like hearing a voice or seeing an angel.”
“Sometimes that’s true,” Sister Lee said. “But most of the time, the Holy Ghost answers our prayers in quiet ways. Like through an idea or a warm feeling.”
Sabrina looked at the picture of the boy on the bus. She thought about the light, happy feeling she had about getting baptized. Maybe that was the Holy Ghost telling her that it was a good choice.
Maybe she really did have a testimony.
Sabrina’s baptism day came. Her dad took her hand, and she stepped into the warm water. When she came out of the water, she felt happy. And when Dad laid his hands on her head to give her the gift of the Holy Ghost, she felt warm all over.
The next Sunday was fast Sunday. People got up to share their testimonies. Sabrina jumped out of her seat and walked up to the front of the chapel. She took a deep breath and smiled. She knew what she was going to say now. And she knew what she was going to write on that blank page in her baptism book later.
She hadn’t found her blanket yet, but she had found her testimony.
Illustrations by Amanda Smith